Rectangular, large-sized cheese mould

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to an improvement in a rectangular, large cheese mould, one end of which has been designed as a door through which the bottom of the mould and the cheese mattress resting upon this may be extracted in its own plane from the mould, the bottom of the mould consisting of perforated band or net webbing permeable to whey. The invention is characterized in that the bottom of the mould consists of an endless wire, the upper run of which supports the cheese mattress and in connection with the lower run of which a wire-cleaning device has been fitted.

United States Patent Kataja [4 1 Mar. 28, 1972 [54] RECTANGULAR,LARGE-SIZED 3,266,145 8/1966 Andersen ..31/44 CHEESE MOULD 3,523,3678/1970 Czulak ..3 H46 x [72] Inventor: Vaino Kataja, Helsinki, Finland[73] Assignee: MKT-tehtaaty 0y, Helsinki, Finland [22] Filed: Apr. 9,1970 [21] App]. No.: 26,968

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 11, 1969 Finland ..lO66/69[52] U.S. Ci ..31/44, 31/46, 31/20 [51] Int. Cl ..A0lj 25/08, AOlj 25/15[58] Field ofSearch ..3l/44, 46, 47, 89, 7,8,9,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,980,538 4/1961 Wolf ..3H46 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,337,086 7/1963 France PrimaryExaminerI-Iugh R. Chamblee Attorney-McGIew and Toren [5 7] ABSTRACT Thisinvention relates to an improvement in a rectangular, large cheesemould, one end of which has been designed as a door through which thebottom of the mould and the cheese mattress resting upon this may beextracted in its own plane from the mould, the bottom of the mouldconsisting of perforated band or net webbing permeable to whey. Theinvention is characterized in that the bottom of the mould consists ofan endless wire, the upper run of which supports the cheese mattress andin connection with the lower run of which a wirecleaning device has beenfitted.

4 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure Patented March 28, 1972 3,651,575

INVENTOR:

v/Kmo KATAIA M Wrm A ORNEIS RECTANGULAR, LARGE-SIZED CHEESE MOULD Theinitial part of the procedure in cheese manufacturing takes place inthat coagulation and preparation of the cheese curd is accomplished inthe cheese kettle. The cheese pulp, which thus is composed of cheesecurd and of whey, is poured from the cheese kettle into the cheesemould. The cheese mould retains within it the cheese curd, but lets thewhey escape. The escape of the whey is furthermore promoted by pressing.When the whey has escaped, the cheese is taken from the mould.

Removal of the cheese from a small mould causes no difficulties. But inrecent time use of large, rectangular moulds has been suggested whichhave a length of several meters. Special means are required for removingthe thick carpet of cheese that has precipitated on the bottom of such amould.

It has been suggested to make the bottom of the cheese mould ofrectangular sections which are permeable to whey, and to design one endof the mould as a door through which the bottom parts of the mould andthe cheese mattress resting on them can be extracted from the mould. Thedrawing job is accomplished by the aid of a traction element, such as achain or a rope, which has been attached on one hand to one or severalbottom parts and on the other hand, to a winch. The bottom parts may belockable with each other. An arrangement of this kind has the drawbackthat manipulation of the bottom sections takes a lot of work. When thecheese has been removed from upon the bottom sections, these bottomsections have to be washed and rearranged on the bottom of the mould forthe next charge.

Prior art includes also an arrangement in which the bottom of the mouldconsists of a perforated band or net web, one end of which has beenfixed to a drum placed outside the mould, close to its exit end. Byrotating the drum, the perforated band or net together with the cheesecarpet resting on it may be drawn out from the mould. This arrangementhas the drawback that a particular work phase is required in which theperforated band or net is washed and returned into position on thebottom of the cheese mould.

The aim of the present invention is to accomplish an arrangement whichis free of the mentioned drawbacks. The invention thus has reference toan arrangement in a rectangular, large cheese mould, one end of whichhas been designed as a door through which the bottom of the mould andthe cheese mattress resting on it may be extracted from the mould in itsown plane, the bottom of the mould consisting of perforated band or of anet web permeable to whey. The invention is characterized in that thebottom of the mould consists of an endless wire, the upper run of whichsupports the cheese mattress, and in connection with the lower run ofwhich there has been arranged a device which cleans the wire.

In an arrangement according to the invention the bottom of the mould iscontinuously acting. In order to remove the cheese mattress from themould, the wire is moved so that its upper run travels in the directiontowards the exit end of the mould. When the cheese mattress has beenremoved from the mould, the mould is immediately ready for anothercharge. In other words, no particular return phase or washing phase isneeded.

The invention is described for closer illustration in the following withreference to the attached drawing, which represents a rectangular, largecheese mould in vertical section. The mould is confined by the ends 1and 2 and the side walls 3, and it rests on feet 5. The bottom of themould consists of an endless wire 8,9 running over drums 6 and 7, whichmay be a perforated metal strip, metal webbing, plastic webbing or othersimilar material, through which the whey may flow. The drum 7 is thedrum which applies traction.

hand end 2 of the mould can be olpened.

When cheeses are made with t e aid of the mould described in theforegoing, cheese pulp, which consists of cheese curd and whey, ispoured from the cheese kettle into the mould. The whey runs off from themould, while the cheese curd is retained in it and forms upon the upperrun of the wire 8, a mattress of greater or smaller thickness. Next, thecheese mattress is pressed to compact state with the aid of the pressureplate 12. The pressure to be applied depends on what type of cheese ismanufactured. It is obvious that the upper run of the wire 8 issupported from below to tolerate the pressure acting on it. After thepressing operation the cheese mattress can be removed from the mould assuch. To do this, the end 2 is opened and the wire 8,9 is started up tomove, together with the cheese mattress, in direction of arrow 15. Asuitable receiving table 4 has been placed at the right-hand end of thewire 8,9 to receive the cheese mattress. The cheese mattress in themould may be cut up before it is removed. For this purpose the cutter 13is mounted in position upon the side walls 3 of the mould. The cutter 13may either be moved by steps along the cheese mould, or the cheesemattress 14 is moved in direction of arrow 15 past the stationary cutter13, as has been shown in the drawing.

For the purpose of cleaning the wire, rotating brushes l6 and 17 havebeen placed on either side of its lower run 9. Furthermore, water orother washing fluid is directed from nozzles 18 and 19 against the wire.This makes the wire arrive in clean condition on the bottom of the mouldafter passing around the drum 6. For adjustment of the tension of thewire 8,9, its lower run has been arranged to pass over a slide 20, whichis adjustable in vertical height.

It is obvious to anyone skilled in the art that different embodiments ofthe invention may vary within the scope of the patent claims presentedbelow.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for processing cheese, comprising a cheese mould, saidmould comprising a pair of laterally spaced side walls and a pair of endwalls each extending across one end of said mould between said sidewalls, one said end wall being openable for removing cheese from withinsaid mould in the plane of the cheese within said mould, a horizontallyarranged drum located adjacent to and outwardly from each said end wallof said mould, an endless belt formed of a perforatemetal webbingpermeable to whey and is trained over said drums with the upper run ofsaid webbing forming the bottom of said mould and means arranged toclean said webbing on its lower run between said drums.

2. Apparatus for processing cheese, as set forth in claim 1, whereinadjustable means are provided in contact with the lower run of saidwebbing between said drums-for effecting an adjustment in the tension ofsaid webbing.

3. Apparatus for processing cheese, as set forth in claim 1, wherein acutter is displaceably supported on said side walls of said mould forcutting the cheese mould in sections as it is displaced from said mouldby moving said webbing over said drums.

4. Apparatus for processing cheese, as set forth in claim 1, wherein acompression plate is positioned above said mould for movement into saidmould for effecting a pressing operation on the cheese charged into themould. 1

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 9i CORREC'HON 3,651,575 DatedMarch 28, 1972,

. VAINO KATAJA Patent ,No.

Inventor(s) It is certified that error appears in the above-identifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading; of the patent, the

name of the assignee should read:

-- MKT tehtaat 0y Helsinki, Finland Signed and sealed this 1st day ofAugust 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Commissioner of PatentsAttesting Officer 5 FORM PO-105O (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 fi u.5.GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1969 0-366-33A

1. Apparatus for processing cheese, comprising a cheese mould, saidmould comprising a pair of laterally spaced side walls and a pair of endwalls each extending across one end of said mould between said sidewalls, one said end wall being openable for removing cheese from withinsaid mould in the plane of the cheese within said mould, a horizontallyarranged drum located adjacent to and outwardly from each said end wallof said mould, an endless belt formed of a perforate metal webbingpermeable to whey and is trained over said drums with the upper run ofsaid webbing forming the bottom of said mould and means arranged toclean said webbing on its lower run between said drums.
 2. Apparatus forprocessing cheese, as set forth in claim 1, wherein adjustable meaNs areprovided in contact with the lower run of said webbing between saiddrums for effecting an adjustment in the tension of said webbing. 3.Apparatus for processing cheese, as set forth in claim 1, wherein acutter is displaceably supported on said side walls of said mould forcutting the cheese mould in sections as it is displaced from said mouldby moving said webbing over said drums.
 4. Apparatus for processingcheese, as set forth in claim 1, wherein a compression plate ispositioned above said mould for movement into said mould for effecting apressing operation on the cheese charged into the mould.